Protected premises and secured areas often require the servicing, maintenance, or installation of on-site equipment or machinery, the delivery or dispatch of materials or equipment, or the performance of other service tasks by authorized personnel, while, as the same time, excluding unauthorized personnel from the protected premises or secured area. To implement such security measures, some protected premises or secured areas require the attendance of security personnel to check security credentials of the service personnel. However, security personnel can be expensive.
Accordingly, some protected premises or secured areas include automated access control systems that allow security personnel to gain entry using keypads, card readers, or other access control devices in communication with electronically controlled locks, latches, doors, or actuators. While access control equipment attached to the exterior of a protected premise or secured area can be inexpensive, such equipment can be the focus of vandalism or illicit attempts by unauthorized persons to gain access to the protected premise or secured area, or, simply, can be unappealing aesthetically. For example, automated access control equipment can render an access control system vulnerable to attack by system interference, such as attempts to disable an alarm or access control system by interfering with an associated signal or power cable.
In view of the above, there is a continuing, ongoing need for improved systems and methods of access control in security systems.